News

On Human Rights Day 2009 (10 December), which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently declared would focus on non-discrimination, the Equal Rights Trust (ERT) will issue a series of specific appeals to nine governments and parliaments to act on discrimination. 

ERT is the only international human rights organisation focussed exclusively on the right to equality and regularly makes recommendations to governments on the need to repeal discriminatory laws and policies and improve protection against discrimination. ERT will use Human Rights Day to urge certain governments to adopt recommendations it has addressed to them over the course of 2009. The Trust will also write to the Presidents of Malaysia and the USA urging action to address the situation of stateless people in detention, in advance of the publication of new research.

ERT will be addressing specific appeals to 9 governments from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas:

Latvia – ERT will urge the Latvian government and lawmakers to uphold the equality of all persons under its jurisdiction in respect to their pension rights and not roll back current levels of social security, as recommended in ERT’s expert opinion earlier this year.

Malaysia – ERT will call on the government of Malaysia to ensure equal rights for stateless Rohingya migrants under its jurisdiction, following previous advocacy and ahead of the publication of its special report on the situation of Rohingya held in detention in that country.

UK – ERT will write to the leaders of the UK’s three major political parties urging them to ensure that adequate parliamentary time is made for the 2009 Equality Bill to be enacted before parliament rises.

Read more: Governments Urged to Act on Discrimination

Stonewall has released a plain English guide on how to challenge homophobic language in schools. The guide is aimed at secondary and primary school teachers and education and youth professionals in Britain.

This is the first in a series of education guides for teachers on different specific aspects of tackling homophobic bullying. Each Stonewall education guide will contain practical advice as well as information on policy, legislation and real case study examples of how schools are already combating the problem. The best practice examples come from members of Stonewall’s Education Champions Programme, which enables Local Authorities to work with Stonewall and each other to tackle homophobic bullying in their local schools.

Research conducted by YouGov for Stonewall this year has shown that homophobic language and bullying is commonplace in schools, but teachers are massively under-resourced to tackle the problem. 95 per cent of secondary school staff and three quarters of primary school staff reported hearing the phrases ‘you’re so gay’ or ‘that’s so gay’ in their schools. Eight in ten secondary school teachers and two in five primary school teachers reported hearing other insulting homophobic remarks such as ‘poof’, ‘dyke’ and ‘queer’.

Read more: How to deal with "That's So Gay!"

A survey of gay and lesbian parents undertaken by Rainbow Family Holidays has found that more than half of the men and women surveyed preferred the company of similar families when on holiday. 

When asked “If you had the choice of whom you holiday with, would you choose to go with other gay & lesbian families, with mixed (straight & LGBT) families, with an LGBT group (not just families) or with just your family”, the largest number said they would choose other gay and lesbian families. 

Children do seem to be the priority here, as the second most popular choice was ‘with mixed (straight & LGBT) families’. According to one of the survey respondents, “we want to feel comfortable ourselves and let our children meet other children from similar families. If that’s not possible, we would rather they be around other children.” 

Surprisingly, no major operators cater to this market. This has led to the rise of small, niche companies such as Rainbow Family Holidays who specialise in providing holidays for LGBT parents and their children. 

Read more: 51% of gay families prefer to go on holiday with other gay people

Data published today by the UK's Health Protection Agency shows that in 2008, an estimated 2,760 men who have sex with men (MSM) were newly diagnosed with HIV. This is 6% fewer than in 2007.  The fall is not due to a lack of testing - more people tested for the virus in 2008.

Despite fewer new diagnoses, record numbers of MSM are living with HIV in the UK, over 24,000 are diagnosed and almost 9,000 are undiagnosed.

In response to these statistics, Nick Partridge, Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust said, "The level of undiagnosed HIV in the country is completely unacceptable. With early diagnosis and effective treatment, most people with HIV can live to old age. If left undiagnosed, they will die earlier, be significantly more ill and more likely to infect others. HIV testing is easy, quick and saves lives. Every sexually active gay man should get tested. There should be more testing offered in more settings and we need the political will to make this happen."

Terrence Higgins Trust is calling on the Government to introduce a national targeted screening programme to halve undiagnosed HIV in the UK by 2014. 

In advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting this weekend, the Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has called on the Heads of Government to condemn an Anti-Homosexuality Bill recently introduced in the Parliament of Uganda and to take urgent action to repeal existing homophobic laws across the Commonwealth.

Homosexual conduct is currently illegal in 43 of the 53 Commonwealth nations, despite the commitment in the 1971 Commonwealth Declaration of Principles to “foster human equality and dignity everywhere”.

In a letter to the Commonwealth General Secretary Kamalesh Sharma, ERT urges Heads of Government to:
  -  Establish a Ministerial Action Group to address the issue of laws criminalising homosexual conduct and advise member states of the Commonwealth on the legal implications of retaining such laws.
  -  Condemn the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which was tabled in the Parliament of Uganda in the strongest terms and consider sanctions which would follow from adoption of the Bill.
  -  Include a political commitment to tackling homophobic laws in the final communiqué of its meeting.

Read more: Call to Condemn Homophobic Laws

The UK theme for World AIDS Day 2009 will focus on the reality of HIV in the UK today. The aim is to present true, and sometimes surprising, accounts of how HIV affects people in the UK and to dispel myths and misinformation.

The slogan for World AIDS Day 2009 is "HIV: Reality"

The call to action is: Discover the real stories about HIV in the UK today. Understanding the facts is the key to fighting prejudice and protecting yourself and others.

“HIV: Reality” builds on last year’s popular “Respect & Protect” theme and this strapline remains a component of this year’s execution. NAT’s research has shown that public knowledge of HIV in the UK is declining and there is evidence of a worrying lack of understanding about HIV and its relevance in a UK context. For people to respect and protect themselves and others, they need to understand the facts and reality of HIV in the UK.

Read more: World Aids Day 2009

All gay men, regardless of their HIV status, are responsible for safer sex. This World AIDS Day, GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, will be promoting this message across the London gay scene with a new postcard campaign and host of fundraising events. 

Matthew Hodson, Head of Programmes at GMFA, says: “This is a simple yet important health message that we want to get across. Many HIV-negative men believe it’s up to positive men not to infect others, while many HIV-positive men believe HIV-negative men should take responsibility to protect themselves. The truth is we are all responsible for our own health as well as that of our partners.”

Unsafe sex between gay men, HIV positive and HIV negative, is behind the spread of HIV in the gay community. Both positive and negative gay men in the UK engage in high-risk sexual activity - specifically, fucking without condoms - with men whose status they do not know, or whose status they know to be different to their own.

Read more: Hey You! Take Responsibility For Safer Sex

On Thursday 26th November a one off celebrity extravaganza will take West London’s The Paradise by storm and will see some of the biggest names in fashion and music performing live onstage. 

The Hepatitis C Trust’s GET TESTED! campaign is collaborating with Cover To Cover to rasie awareness of Hepititis C. 

Together they have pooled their resources and come up with a fantastic line up of artists who will bring you their favourite covers. Upstairs the likes of Boy George, David Mcalmont, Dot Allison and Sadie Frost will perform covers of their favourite songs backed by a live band. Downstairs the Cover To Cover residents Sean Rowley and Christian Laing, Ed Simons (The Chemical Brothers), Justin Robertson, Alan McGee and Dan Williams (Jezebel Sound System) will be playing their favourite cover records. 

The GET TESTED! campaign encourages people to get tested for hepatitis C if they think they have been at risk. In 2010 GET TESTED! will be raising money to employ a blood borne virus nurse and a bus to tour the country testing people in hard to reach areas. 

Read more: Get Tested! Get Covered with Boy George